In a matchup of 2-0 teams coming in, the Plainsmen would get the better of the defending 4A state champs to start the season.

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#3 Evanston vs. Laramie…in a matchup of 2-and-oh teams…this game being played at Cheyenne East…first quarter…Laramie wearing the white…Sam Hainline is open behind the defense…he’ll take the assist from Dominick Villarreal and finish the job, to put the Plainsmen on the board first…up 2-nothing.

The defending champs would come right back…nice spin move by Jemini Leckie and he’d cruise his way in for the first 2 of his 11 points in this game, and things are knotted up at 2 points a-piece.

The Red Devils were just warming up early…Matt Johnson sees a lane and goes right through it, en route to the hoop…the senior contributed with 11 himself, and his team now leads 4-to-2.

The Plainsmen would use their defense and transition…Sam Feldman picks off the pass and takes off the other way for a lay-in on the right side…11 was quite a popular number for some players, as that was his total…we have a 4-4 game right now.

Evanston would make the first run of the game…Leckie is open at the top of the key…and he’s opening the door for 3…that would light a fire as his team would move ahead by a score of 11-to-6.

They were scoring up close as well…Johnson with a little 1-on-1 action in front of the net, and that was no trouble for him…the Red Devils led 13-to-6 after the first 8 minutes.

2nd quarter…Laramie started working on a comeback…here’s Hainline putting up a running 1-hander…he led all scorers with 14 and his team is within striking distance…down 14-10.

But The Red Devils knew how to mix it up effectively for awhile…if you can’t score up close…find the open man behind the arc…in this case, it was Nathan Chandler and he’ll announce his presence on this 3-bomb…his team is feeling a little more comfortable, up 17-to-10.

Now on this play…Tyler Loose is going to get loose for the Plainsmen and take care of things himself…he’ll squeeze right through the defense to get 2 points and add on to the cause…his team still trails, 18-12.

They were starting to make their run after enduring one from the opposition…Hainline will get the better of Johnson in this 1-on-1 up close matchup…but there were other battles…Laramie is down 20-to-16.

Later…The Plainsmen were spreading the love around…Feldman is going to count to 3…and then he’s going to move the ball…and that trey would get his team right back into this game…trailing 20-to-19.

More defense and transition…Loose with the steal…great bounce pass to Feldman who’s on the run himself…and he’ll put in an equally great finish on the near hoop…as Laramie would move ahead, 26-23, going into the locker room.

Third quarter…not much scoring by either side, as both teams were saving it for later…but there were a few things here and there…Villareal has the defense beat and poured in 11 on the game himself, and his team is maintaining a 30-to-24 advantage.

Here comes that defense again…Villareal was making his move in the 2nd half…this fast break would polish off an 18-to-4 run by his team, that started before halftime…Laramie is up 8…it’s 32-to-24 at this point.

The opposition would hang around though…Johnson draws the defense in…and then he’ll kick the ball out to a very wide open Colton Welling and he’s burning the nets for 3…that was the wake-up call his team needed…Evanston trails, 32-27.

…and the 3-ball was working for awhile…someone on defense forgot about Leckie and this 3 is a reminder that he’s still there…the Red Devils were only down 33-30 going into the final 8 minutes.

4th quarter…here’s where games are won and lost…the Plainsmen got sneaky on this play as Hainline will score on the inbounds play to give his team some breathing room…it’s 35-30.

They were starting to make their big push…Villarreal is driving the base-line and the defense was too late on this one…Laramie was trying to pull away, up 37-30.

Evanston was not done just yet…Taylor Siemers says…eh why not…we need 3…he had 10, and that got his team closer…down 37-33.

But Hainline did have the last say in the battle of big men…6’6” can usually beat 6’2” and it did here…as Laramie would cap off a 3-and-oh weekend to start the season…winning this game…48-to-39.